


the promise made on the daybed by the window

by daesicks



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cyberpunk, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Detroit: Become Human, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, RIGHT ITS HOT????, Slow Burn, also kang younghyung hot as fuckkkk, just imagine jaehyung annoying the hell out of reader, loosely based on detroit become human, sort of asshole but smartass jaehyung, this is quite plot centered hence the slow burn tag, very much skilled reader who is smart as well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25617346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daesicks/pseuds/daesicks
Summary: It's Year 3080. The world has progressively learned more about technology and its wonders. As the government starts to focus on a futuristic tomorrow, companies are given more funds to focus on producing a certain type of technology: androids. This attention focused on a futuristic society only prove the government completely fails to recognize the number of people who certainly need to be given more attention. Now with the lack of attention given to the middle and lower classes, this has caused the origin of a civil resistance group under the alias "Fulminare", which aims to find ways to get the government to listen to all citizens of different socioeconomic classes.When a scientist and technician of CyberLife named Park Jaehyung catches Y/N, a member of Fulminare, in the midst of a scheme, what else can Y/N do to make sure the plan pushes through?Cyberpunk Au/Based on Detroit: Become Human
Relationships: Park Jaehyung | Jae/Reader
Kudos: 5





	1. A Trip to TeleCorp

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for taking the time to read this fic!!! this has been something i've been sort of imagining for a while now since there are not enough cyberpunk aus so ive decided to finally put my thoughts into words!!!! please make sure to look through the tags every time i post a new chapter as i will be updating it as i go. i hope you enjoy this fic :DDD

**Year 3080**

**Seoul, South Korea**

It is a relatively chill day for Jaehyung. He had already submitted his full report for the prototype of the RK series, the RK800. Despite it being the first of the RK series, it had been named RK800 to acknowledge that it has taken eight times to successfully make a prototype that could be let out into the world. Long gone would be the days of Jaehyung having to pull off all-nighters or sleep in his office. All he wished was that the prototype would be an actual success. He remembers how he tested out the RK800 just two days ago.

—

_Trial 462_

_It is currently 4:32 A.M. and Jaehyung has had enough of caffeine. His nervous system cannot seem to rely on the three shots of espresso he downed just a while ago. His eye bags have progressively gotten worse as he continues with this project, but he signed up for this. 'Might as well finish it.' is what Jaehyung thought every damn time he wanted to give up._

_He knew that the project would get passed on to someone like his rival, Xu Minghao, perhaps. It was not really a matter of pride that was keeping him from passing this project to him, but more on the money, he would receive if he completed it. There was no denying that Jaehyung would earn a lot of money if he completed the project he was assigned to do. Despite the seven technicians that were once in charge of the prototype of the RK series, he believed that this was his hard work. Of course, he had to thank the past seven for contributing and helping in the process of this prototype. He learned from the technician right before him, Park Chaewon, that the pay is even higher if you complete this project. If he were to back out and pass this project on to Xu Minghao, Jaehyung would only end the day with just a reasonable number of bucks. However, Jaehyung is greedy; he will not allow himself to just earn that amount of money when he has pulled off a huge number of all-nighters just to get this prototype to successfully work._

_"C'mon now, we just need you to work." Jaehyung says to himself as he tries to boot up RK800. After a few seconds of waiting, the android opens his eyes. This is probably around the 100th time Jaehyung has seen this android opened his eyes, but this might be the 1st time he will have the android not experience any malfunctions._

_"Can you hear me?" He spoke to the android, waiting in anticipation._

_"Yes, I can hear you." The android spoke back. All Jaehyung could do was smile and let out the biggest sigh of relief._

—

Jaehyung was currently on his way to his boss' office, ready to hopefully receive the pay he definitely deserved. He was nervous, of course, but he was thinking about all his hard work finally being paid off. His major in Cognitive Science might actually pay off despite it being a major he was sort of forced to take. His college years were years he did not enjoy but it found a way to pay off, right?

He finally reached his boss' office, greeted by the secretary, Choi Bina. Bina gave him a nod, signaling him that he could enter, so he did. As he entered, he was greeted with a smile.

"Ah, you're finally here!" is what his boss, Mr. Park, exclaimed. "Take a seat, please!" Mr. Park continued to say. Jaehyung simply obeyed his orders and took a seat right in front of him.

"I have read your report and color me impressed. We've already put RK800 under training so that we can release it into the world to further enhance it. However, the project will finally be off your case since you have completed it." Jaehyung tried to hold back his smile once he heard those words leave Mr. Park's mouth.

"Your pay will be sent to your home tomorrow so please wait until then. I asked you to come here to visit TeleCorp, need you to check on their main broadcasting center since you used to work there. Think you can do that? You don't have to come back here to inform me once you've done the task. You can go back home and rest since you deserve it." Mr. Park continued. There was no way Jaehyung could deny this task. He did want to go home immediately but all he had to do was handle that one task.

"Of course, Mr. Park." Jaehyung responds with a nod. "Alright! Thank you again for your hard work, Jaehyung. You're contributing to a better tomorrow."

—

"Hi, I'm Park Jaehyung of CyberLife. Mr. Park sent me here to check on the main broadcasting center." Jaehyung says to the woman at the front desk, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Ah, Mr. Park! It has certainly been a while." Ha Sooyoung, his past coworker, says to him. "It certainly has been, Sooyoung. Surprised to see you still working here." Jaehyung admits. Sooyoung has mentioned to Jaehyung that she clearly wishes to leave her job here in TeleCorp to pursue being a dance teacher.

"Yeah, I'm still here to make sure I have a comfortable living once I leave this job. They pay well, you know? But I can clearly see that CyberLife must pay you even more." She raises an eyebrow at him, a small smirk playing on her lips. Jaehyung just smiles at her, not giving her any form of confirmation.

"You can go in. You know what floor it should be on anyway, right?" She asks as she presses a button, allowing the automated gates to open. "Of course, how could I forget the five years I spent in TeleCorp?" Jaehyung throws at Sooyoung, earning a giggle. "Nice seeing you Jaehyung!" She calls out as he continues to walk to the elevators. "You as well!"

Before Jaehyung got his current job at CyberLife, he absolutely _loved_ it in TeleCorp. It was sort of a combination of science and technology and humanities. He even loved the people he worked with like Boo Seungkwan, one of TeleCorp's best newscasters, Woo Hyerim, a fellow technician, and many more individuals. He felt as if his life was somewhat perfect in TeleCorp, but he learned something.

He learned that TeleCorp is pro-government and that did not sit well with him. For a news network and broadcasting company to be pro-government sounded wrong, especially if the public were to hear such. They would think that the government screens through the content that TeleCorp shares with the public, or even worse, think that TeleCorp might be only showing them what the government wants them to see.

As he continued to wait for the elevator to finally reach the ground floor, he looked back to where Sooyoung was to see her talking to someone he has never seen. Perhaps they are a relatively new worker? He could not really tell what they were talking about but he did see Sooyoung pass a note to the person in question. He looks back towards the elevator as he continues to wait and wonder how much TeleCorp has grown, and if the current workers had any idea of who TeleCorp supports.

Eventually, the doors have opened. He stepped in and faced towards the front to only see the person who was talking to Sooyoung a while ago. "Are you getting in?" He asked them as he pressed a button holding the doors open. "Uh, no. You go ahead, I'm waiting for someone." They replied as they slightly bowed, perhaps a way to apologize. "No worries." He responds, letting go of the button so that the doors could finally shut.

The ride to the 28th floor was a short trip. All he could ever think about is the connection between TeleCorp and the government. It may not be a big deal to some, but it was a big deal to him, at least. It was the thought of knowing that not even the biggest, but just one of these well-known news networks were affiliated with the government. He remembered how he even found out of such.

It was Year 3077; Jaehyung was called to his supervisors' meeting room to discuss whether he was going to continue his job in TeleCorp or resign. It is a yearly thing that happens in the company to get an estimation of the number of workers they should scout for to reach the quota they had set. He was waiting outside the meeting room since his supervisors had informed him to wait for a bit until they finish discussing something. Of course, he respected that, but it felt like it was taking forever. The only people in the waiting room he was in were just the secretary, Park Jihyo, and himself.

Then, the telephone rang, which Jihyo immediately picked up. "Yes, sir? Oh, I'll inquire Jiwoo regarding that matter. Would you prefer I leave you on hold sir or call you back? Alright, sir." She spoke and then put the handheld telephone down on the table. "I'll just be fetching some files from Jiwoo, please don't speak too loudly since they'll hear you." She said to him as she stood up from her seat. All Jaehyung did was nod and smile at her, waiting for her to leave.

Once she left, he took the opportunity to grab the handheld and listen to what they were talking about. He did not like to snoop, but he was curious as to why his supervisors were taking too long. One thing he was grateful for at that moment was the fact that there were no CCTVs placed in the room.

What he heard came to him as a shock. He heard only snippets of their conversation but had a somewhat clear understanding of what was going on. He had learned that the government was funding TeleCorp and that the two were very much connected. It was when he learned that information that he had decided to leave TeleCorp and resign. He felt that he should have informed others of such information, but he did not know who to trust. If word got out, he could be in trouble for spreading such. People would think he is a coward for keeping such, but he was definitely waiting for the right time and the right people.

Finally, he had reached the 28th floor and waited for the doors to open. He greeted the two security guards stationed in front of a door and showed them his I.D. All they did was nod at him and allowed him to enter. As he entered, he was greeted by two familiar faces.

"Ah, it's good to see you." Jeon Wonwoo, his old boss when he still worked for TeleCorp, greeted him with an embrace. Wonwoo and Jaehyung had developed a sort of bond over the past five years despite Wonwoo being Jaehyung's boss. Wonwoo was sort of devastated when Jaehyung had told him he was resigning, but all Jaehyung could think of was whether or not Wonwoo had any idea of TeleCorp's relationship with the government.

"Nice to see you again, hyung." Choi Soobin, an old coworker of Jaehyung, greeted him with a big smile. "How are you? CyberLife treating you well?" Wonwoo asked as he finally stopped hugging Jaehyung. "Yeah, it's an interesting job with interesting people." Jaehyung replied with a small smile.

"Alright, the systems bugged or something. You're the most knowledgeable about this system which is why we had contacted Jinyoung to send you here. I'll leave you to it with Soobin." Wonwoo said before he decided to leave the room. "Oh, and no funny business! CCTVs have been down for quite a while. Jaehyung, I trust that you will supervise Soobin." Eventually, Wonwoo had finally left the room, leaving Jaehyung and Soobin alone in the room.

"Bugged, huh?" Jaehyung inquired, earning a nod from Soobin. "Yeah, I wanted to handle this since you've taught me about the system but Wonwoo seems skeptical about me and my abilities. No idea why." Soobin continued. "That must really suck. I can't believe he asked me to supervise you when you should be supervising me, but I'll handle this." Jaehyung reassured in which Soobin responded with a smile.

"Alright, I'll make some coffee for you while you get to it." Soobin says as he is on the way to leave the room. Jaehyung muttered a small "Thanks" as he looked through the interface before Soobin left. Jaehyung had only thought that today would be a relatively chill day for him. He was just dreaming of getting rid of the bug in the system so that he could finally get home and take a nap, maybe even play some video games or finally play some tunes on his guitar. Little did he know that he was in a danger zone where a scheme would eventually take place in a few minutes.

Jaehyung was very much pre-occupied with fixing the main broadcasting center for him to even notice that Soobin has not come back with his cup of coffee. If he remembered clearly, the break room is just a few steps away from this room. It should not take him this long to make a cup or two, right? Eventually, he got rid of the bug and the main broadcasting center was good and ready to use.

He was not sure whether or not he should have just waited for Wonwoo or Soobin to come back, but he decided to just leave the room. The guards he had greeted a while ago were nowhere to be seen. ' _That's odd._ ' is what Jaehyung had thought. He saw the break room just a few steps away from the main broadcasting center, hoping to see Soobin in there. However, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh, where could they be?" Jaehyung said out loud to no one in particular. He decided to not give it too much thought and just make himself a cup of coffee. He was longing for one, especially since he could not grab a cup on the way to CyberLife since he was running a bit late to his appointment with his boss. As he inserted the capsule and let the coffee dispense from the machine into one of the company's mugs, he was starting to feel uneasy with the fact that no one seemed to be on this level. The only rooms on this level were the main broadcasting center and the break room for the employees who worked in the previously mentioned room.

Finally, the machine had finished dispensing the coffee. As he was about to reach for the cup, he heard the elevator's doors open with a ding. Then, he heard unfamiliar voices.

"Is anyone on this floor?" He recognized that voice, it was the voice of the person he had talked to this morning.

"There should only be one person. He goes by Park Jaehyung."

"Did he leave?"

"Not so sure. I left because Yves called me to help with handling something."

"For God's sake, I thought we discussed that you had to stay on guard, especially since Bang informed us of that person's presence."

"Blame Yves, not me."

"Just go, check if he's still in the room. Say that Wonwoo or whatever the fuck his name is called for him."

Then it turned silent for a while, only hearing footsteps. Jaehyung had a feeling that this was not going to be a good situation, so his first instinct was to hide. He was searching for perfect places to hide and saw an opening between the refrigerator and the wall. All he had to do was move the potted plant away so that he could fill that space.

Jaehyung had decided to forgo the cup of coffee he just prepared himself and hide quickly as possible, hoping that the people currently on this floor would not find him. Once he finally filled the space, he grabbed the potted plant to cover him even more. Sure, it was not going to fully cover him, but it was just to make sure that the plant was not out of place.

"He's not in there."

"Go, just start preparing as you wait for the others. I'll search the floor." He heard them speak. ' _Fuck._ ' is all he could think at that moment. He was starting to panic because he did not know what to do in a situation like this. He was only prepared for when there would be fires or earthquakes, but not for a scheme about to take place.

Eventually, he heard footsteps nearing the break room, and all he could think of was to hold his breath and hope for the best. The footsteps were getting even louder, meaning that the person he had met earlier was in the break room. He could not tell what was going on, but he had a feeling he had already screwed up when he left the cup of coffee out there.

"It's hot." He heard them say. He knew he was long gone, only hoping that they would not properly scout the break room. He was taking this opportunity to say a silent prayer, hoping that he would make it out alive. He started to remember his life at that moment. It is as if his memories just suddenly turned into a movie playing in his head. All his past regrets were starting to vanish, except for one; agreeing to go to TeleCorp today will remain his biggest regret.

He was not sure how much time had passed but it felt like it took forever for the person to find him. He was not sure about whether or not they knew of his whereabouts and was just playing with him or they had absolutely no idea. He was hoping for the latter, so he decided to commit a mistake: to peek. He took a peek, only to be greeted with a gun pointed towards his face. ' _Fuck my life._ ' he thought to himself. For someone who graduated with a degree in Cognitive Science, you would expect them to be smart in situations like these.

"Get out of there." The person he had met a while ago, had a bandana covering the bottom half of their face. Of course, Jaehyung obliged, moving the potted plant out of his way so that he could exit his hiding spot. He immediately got onto his knees with his hands behind his head.

"You do know that I know how you look and sound like, right?" Jaehyung said despite the gun being pointed at him. If Jaehyung were to die on that spot, he might as well try to find a way to mask his fear with his humor and cockiness. "Shut up, I could pull the trigger and kill you on the spot." They responded, earning a chuckle.

"Then do it. What's the point of having this go on any longer?" He popped the question. All he saw was the person furrowing their eyebrows to his question. One thing he was thankful for at that moment was the fact that his friend back in college majored in Psychology and loved to ramble. To taunt was one of the few things he remembered from all the rambles he had to listen to, and he was definitely glad his memory was still that good.

He knew that the person in front of him had the upper-hand with an actual gun pointed right at him, but he also knew that his words and attitude held power and could possibly reverse the situation. "I'm not clueless. You know that, right?" The person, who he still has to learn the name of, says. "I didn't say you were clueless."

"I know you're trying to taunt me. I've done it a bunch of times whenever I'm in a situation like yours." They replied to him, but Jaehyung _tried_ to keep his composure. All he could do was hear himself repeat the word 'fuck' since he had no idea what else to do. He would not back down, he will just have to keep this act going.

"Stop talking, and just shoot me already."

"How are you holding up Ru- Oh, what do we have here?" A man with a bandana covering the bottom half of his face enters the break room, looking amused by the situation. "Now, what did we say about shooting people?" He continued, earning an eye-roll from the person in front of Jaehyung.

"You ruined it. Now, this guy knows that we aren't going to kill him." The person says, putting the gun down. "Oh c'mon Ruth, cheer up." The man responds with his eyes sort of crinkling to signify that he was smiling under the bandana. The person, or Ruth as Jaehyung would like to refer to them as proceeds to let out a grunt.

"We can't let him go, Vulps. He saw my face a while ago." Ruth says, earning a sigh from the man, or should we call Vulps. "Yeah, I had a feeling we'd encounter a situation like this. Give me a second." Vulps replies as he steps behind Jaehyung. All Jaehyung could hear was a zipper move at that moment. He had no idea what Ruth and Vulps would do to him, so he did whatever his instincts told him to do.

He tried to grab onto the gun held in Ruth's hands, but he was held back by Vulps with an arm wrapped around his shoulders. "Fuck. Ruth, quickly get ahold of him." Vulps holds onto Jaehyung until Ruth could push Jaehyung down to the floor, arms trapped and legs kept down. Ruth had their knees on Jaehyung's stomach, making it sort of hard for him to properly breathe due to the pressure.

"Fucking hurry up, Vulps." Ruth says, rushing Vulps with whatever he had to get. It was at that moment that Jaehyung decided to scream for help. He kept moving under Ruth, hoping that they would lose their grip over his arms and legs. He thought he would be done for at that moment if he did not find a way to escape.

However, the next thing he felt was a piece of cloth held close to his mouth and nose. His vision started to get hazy, and eventually, everything turned black.


	2. Welcome to Fulminare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! thank you for taking the time to read this!! just a reminder to please read the tags every update as i will be adding more and more tags if needed

"What are we going to do with him?"

"We can't just hold him hostage forever."

"Nor can we kill him, we'd be viewed as a terrorist group."

"I'm just saying if we knew how to hide-"

"Don't finish the sentence. He's very well known if Yves and Bang know him."

"But that's because he worked with them before he left for CyberLife."

"NO KILLING ANYONE!"

Jaehyung was trying to open his eyes, adjusting to the bright intensity of the lights present in the room. His vision was sort of blurry, still adjusting to everything that had happened today. Eventually, Jaehyung could see a group of individuals talking in front of him.

"Hey, he's up." He recognized that voice to be Ruth's, but he could not see them. He tried to look for them only to realize that he has been tied up to a chair. He looked down to see the ropes wrapped around his body, letting out a sigh. ' _This can't get any worse._ ' is what Jaehyung thought to himself.

"Hey, look at me." Someone grabbed a hold of his face and shined a flashlight right at his eyes. He squinted for a bit until he could properly adjust to the bright light. Then, he could see the person who was holding the flashlight. It was Sooyoung, his old coworker and the girl who worked at the front desk.

"S... Sooyoung?" He asked quietly, confused as to why she was here. A million questions were running in Jaehyung's head. How he ended up here, why Sooyoung was here, and what the group of individuals would do to him were some of the many.

"Okay, he's good." Sooyoung says as she turns the flashlight off and lets go of Jaehyung's face. Jaehyung took this opportunity to look at the people in front of him, only to be even more surprised by another's presence. "Soobin?" He called out, earning a small smile from the boy.

Jaehyung tugged at the ropes, earning a smack on the back of his head. He hissed at the sensation, turning his head to the side to see it was Ruth who caused it. "Don't do that, just stay still." They said to him with a glare. Jaehyung resisted the urge to roll his eyes at them and continue facing the group of people in front of him.

"We know you have a lot of questions, but before you get to them, I will give you some information on us." One of them says as he walks towards Jaehyung. He crouches down right in front of him so that the two may be on eye level.

"I'm Namjoon and you are in the base of Fulminare."

Jaehyung recognized that name. Fulminare is a civil resistance group that fights for the middle and lower classes. When the government had revealed their plans for achieving a futuristic society in the future, Fulminare was formed a few days later. The reason Jaehyung knew of them was that they have a strong presence here in Seoul. They are talked about on different social media platforms and even in public. However, no one had any idea of who were the people part of Fulminare.

It is suspected that the individuals part of Fulminare could be of the middle and lower classes, but nothing was really certain. Fulminare covered any trace of identity, making them a group full of unknown individuals. This, of course, is what causes people to fear them. The public —including the government— feared the unknown, but all Fulminare fought for were for the right things; those in poverty were still suffering greatly and with the government trying to achieve a futuristic society entailed that they were willing to put more of their focus on such and disregard those in poverty.

Jaehyung took note of how Fulminare's base looks like. The walls were of smooth but chipped stone, plastered with faded graffiti, crumpled maps, and television screens that showcased the news and the CCTVs placed outside. Most of their fluorescent white lights have turned yellow, giving Jaehyung an idea of how long it's been since they last changed their lights..

"Fulminare... the civil resistance group?" Jaehyung asked, earning a nod from Namjoon. "So, you have an idea of us. That's good to hear. Any thoughts on us before I proceed?" Jaehyung gulped, trying to form the right words in his head. "I respect what Fulminare does, and I wish more people joined your movement rather than fear it." Namjoon smiles at Jaehyung's answer, letting him know that he appreciates it.

"We appreciate that. To let you know, you've only been out for 8 hours. The chloroform wasn't supposed to knock you out for that long, so I'm guessing you were sleep-deprived. We were discussing what to do with you since we do not allow any of our members to kill anyone. If the public were to find out we have blood on our hands, it makes the movement we fight for even harder to push through with." Namjoon explains with Jaehyung agreeing with him.

It was not only a matter of life and death for him but also a matter of making sure the movement happened. If Fulminare were to get any blood on their hands, it would put both the middle and lower class under a bad light. What both Fulminare and mentioned classes fight for would be pushed back, making it harder for everyone, especially those who suffer the most.

"Well, we can't hold him hostage forever." Someone from the group behind Namjoon points out.

"I say we go with my idea: let him join Fulminare." Sooyoung proceeds, making Jaehyung's heart warm up. Sooyoung knew that Jaehyung loves to discuss socio-political issues when given the opportunity. If he were to join Fulminare, he could finally put his words into actions and take a stance for the right things.

"No way, we have no idea what his actual intentions are." Ruth spoke up as they walked up to the group, joining their discussion. This caused Namjoon to sigh. "If you'll excuse me." He says, giving a smile to Jaehyung before he stood up. Namjoon walked back towards the group behind him to join the discussion of what must be done with Jaehyung.

They were all whispering their thoughts and decisions, making sure Jaehyung could not hear whatever the fuck was going on. This allowed Jaehyung to ponder for a bit. He wanted to live, but he did not want to be held hostage forever; it would only cause suspicion to arise. If he did not return and come back to work a few days later, he knew that Mr. Park would call him. Missing Mr. Park's calls are some nightmares Jaehyung does not want to revisit, but he always made sure to get back to Mr. Park immediately. If Jaehyung were to miss his call and not get back to him, that would most certainly get Mr. Park to question his whereabouts.

"No, I think we should hear what Jaehyung has to say." Sooyoung says as she walks towards Jaehyung, settling her hand on his shoulder. "What can you contribute to Fulminare?" She proceeded to ask him, taking Jaehyung by surprise. What could Jaehyung do for Fulminare? He did not know what to say because he was not sure of what they needed.

"Uh... I mean, I have a degree in Cognitive Science and I, uh, know my way with technology. It's one of the reasons I worked for TeleCorp and was even called to their workplace when I don't work for them anymore." Jaehyung admits to them.

Despite not particularly being happy about being a STEM student, he cannot deny that he did have skills. One of the reasons he ended up continuing his course in Cognitive Science was because professors have applauded him for his skills. It was sort of an ego boost for Jaehyung, and it made college somewhat worthwhile.

"Yeah, I can agree with that." Soobin adds on as he walks towards Jaehyung to stand beside him and sets his hand on his shoulder. "He works for CyberLife too. We might need to have connections to them, so yeah." Soobin continues, earning a high-five from Sooyoung.

"Thanks to Jaehyung, he fixed the bug in the main broadcasting center. If it wasn't fixed, we wouldn't have been able to push through the plan." Sooyoung continues. Some of the individuals let out grunts while others remained silent.

"Okay, we'll make a final decision by tomorrow. Younghyun, Ryujin, and I will have a meeting regarding the matter." Namjoon ends the discussion, earning some more grunts from the group. "Sooyoung and Soobin, untie Jaehyung and take care of him for the time being. Everyone else, do whatever you must accomplish." Namjoon breaks up the group, letting everyone go off to their separate ways as Sooyoung and Soobin untie Jaehyung.

"Thank you, by the way." Jaehyung says as he tries to rub off the red marks on his wrist from the ropes. "Don't be scared of Fulminare, you'll be taken care of. Just, don't run off; it'll make us look bad." Sooyoung says with a smile as Soobin helps Jaehyung off of the chair.

"C'mon, we'll get you some food so that you can eat up. It's past dinner time so you must be starving." Soobin says as the three walks together.

—

"So, how did you two end up in Fulminare?" Jaehyung asked after he finished chewing his food. Sooyoung and Soobin were keeping Jaehyung company as he ate his dinner. Jaehyung had told them they did not have to, but they both insisted. Jaehyung was sort of thankful; he only told them they did not have to for formalities, but deep down inside, Jaehyung was scared of being alone.

Soobin and Sooyoung looked at each other to decide who would go first. Both of them seemed to get the message, so Soobin started. "Well, I knew Namjoon even before Fulminare was formed. Namjoon sort of talked to me and my other friend about joining Fulminare. I mean, obviously, my best friend and I were scared but, he also sort of helped alleviate that fear. Fulminare was only starting so Namjoon was really seeking more members to help in making this civil resistance group successful."

"I joined because of a friend. She's not here right now though, so you might meet her some other time. We were sort of contacted by Younghyun, or Vulps as you know him, and we said yes. Fulminare sort of established their name by the time we were contacted and my friend and I knew that we wanted to support Fulminare. We're activists and we know that joining Fulminare will help in making our advocacies happen." Sooyoung explained her story, earning an 'Interesting' from Jaehyung.

"So, you joined after Soobin?" Jaehyung inquired, earning an 'mhm' from Soobin. "It was Namjoon, Yoongi, Ryujin, Yeonjun —the friend I was pertaining to—, and I. Eventually more people came through with the help of our connections, and here we are." Soobin says.

Jaehyung was sort of impressed by Fulminare. For a small group of individuals, they have managed to create a name for themselves. Jaehyung remembers when there was news coverage of Fulminare providing those in poverty basic necessities such as clothes and food, especially for communities that live in extremely impoverished areas.

It is sad though because as Jaehyung was growing up, the number of groups and organizations that focused on fixing problems very much present in the society was decreasing as well; it felt as if there were only a handful of groups and organizations that were still present. So when Fulminare came into the picture, more groups and organizations started coming back. Despite Fulminare being feared by the general public due to no disclosure of identity, certain individuals admired Fulminare and decided to do the same and focus on helping individuals who still suffer.

Eventually, Jaehyung finished up his dinner as the three tried to catch up with each other's lives. "You'll be staying in the boys' quarters. I've got other stuff to finish up anyways, so see you tomorrow! Rest well." Sooyoung says her farewell and walks off, leaving the pair alone.

"You'll be staying with me and Yeonjun for the time being. I hope you don't mind." Soobin says with a smile, earning a chuckle from Jaehyung. "No, I'm glad I'm staying with you and your friend. I don't think I'd survive with anyone else." Soobin smiles at Jaehyung's response as he leads him to his room.

"Yeonjun, I'm coming in with Jaehyung." Soobin calls out as they stand in front of the door. "Yeah, come in!" Yeonjun responds, allowing Soobin to open the door so that they may enter. As Jaehyung walked in, Yeonjun waved at him.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Yeonjun greets him with a smile, his hand sticking out towards Jaehyung. The two shook hands with each other, warming Jaehyung's heart. "Hey, I'm Jaehyung. I know you're the best friend of Soobin, and that's about it." Yeonjun laughs at Jaehyung's response, only replying with an 'mhm' after. "I used to work with Soobin if you didn't know, but I'm pretty sure you do." Jaehyung continued on. "Yeah, it was brought up when we were deciding on what to do with you." Yeonjun points out, making Jaehyung let out an 'oh'.

"Before you two decide to get to know each other, Jaehyung, you'll be sleeping on the bottom bunk bed tonight. I'll just lend you some of my clothes so that you can sleep comfortably." Soobin says as he looks through his closet.

"No need-"

"Trust me, you do not want to sleep in that outfit of yours. You'll change back into them tomorrow." Soobin cuts Jaehyung off before he could insist. "Ah, here we go." Soobin says as he hands Jaehyung a pile of clothes that were neatly folded.

"Oh, I have a clean pack of briefs. You can have it." Yeonjun pitches in as he searches through his bag. He pulls out a sealed pack of new underwear and hands it to Jaehyung. "We do not want you to sleep in dirty underwear, it's unsanitary." Yeonjun points out, making a valid point. The last thing Jaehyung wanted was to contract any diseases during his stay overnight here.

"I'm just going to handle some tasks, so don't mind me on my laptop." Soobin says as he grabs his laptop and climbs onto the top bunk over Yeonjun's bed. "Well, tell me about yourself then." Jaehyung says as he sits on his bed, putting aside the things he was given. Yeonjun takes this as an opportunity to sit on his bed so that they could sit across each other.

"Well, I work for TeleCorp. I left my last company because of differences." Yeonjun says, earning an 'Interesting' from Jaehyung. "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you decide to leave TeleCorp?" Jaehyung lets out a chuckle, not sure whether or not to reveal the full truth or not. "Let's leave it at differences." Jaehyung answers, making Yeonjun reply with an 'Alright'.

The two continue to get to know each other, Soobin eventually joining in the conversation. When the trio ran out of things to do, they would end up playing games like Never Have I Ever or Truth or Dare. It was fun, it made Jaehyung remember how good it felt to sort of be young again. Ever since he got his job at TeleCorp, he has been swamped with work. Transferring to CyberLife made his leisure time cut down to little-to-none. It has been so long since Jaehyung did anything fun with others, that it sort of made him perceive his situation as something not so dreadful.

"Hey, do you know-"

Jaehyung was suddenly cut off by a knock, with Yeonjun responding with a 'Come in'. The door that opened revealed Namjoon. "Hi, can I talk to Jaehyung for a bit?" He asks, earning a nod from Jaehyung as he stood up and walked out of the room, with Namjoon closing the door after. "Follow me to the recreational room." Namjoon says as he walks with Jaehyung following him.

Eventually, Namjoon stops walking and opens the door to the recreational room. It was filled with consoles, couches, a TV, and other things. Jaehyung looked at this room as if it were heaven. Namjoon closed the door once they both entered and walked towards the daybed by the window to take a seat together. Jaehyung followed as continued to look around the recreational room.

The view was nothing too remarkable; it was just the view of the night sky and the streets. You could tell that the location of Fulminare's base was not too far from the main busy city, but it did not mean they were located on the outskirts. It sort of reminded Jaehyung of his childhood whenever he would look out the window as he brainstormed ideas for his music.

"I wanted to get back to you since you weren't given the opportunity to ask any questions. So, just fire away." Namjoon says with a smile.

"Actually, I was wondering if you had my phone? I’m worried my boss contacted me." Jaehyung inquires. "Oh shit, yeah. He texted to ask if you were okay and we sort of forged a text since you were out for so long." Namjoon admits as he fishes for Jaehyung's phone from his pocket. He retrieved said phone and handed it to Jaehyung with an apologetic smile.

Jaehyung took this opportunity to check the message Fulminare had sent, only to see a well-written text message that looked like it came from him. "Wow, who wrote this?" Jaehyung asks as he looks up to Namjoon. "It was Y/N, Ruth as you may know them."

'Y/N, huh?' is what Jaehyung thought. He was quite intrigued by how well the response was written.

_Mr. Park: I heard about what happened at TeleCorp. Please let me know if you made it back home safely._

_Jaehyung: Thank you for the concern, Mr. Park. I made it back safely and will rest up._

_Mr. Park: That’s good to know. I'll get Bina to send the money as soon as possible. You'll be messaged when you are needed again back in CyberLife. You deserve the break._

_Jaehyung: Thank you again, sir._

"Yeah, Y/N is very skilled. I'm scared that they might pretend to be me one day." Namjoon says with a chuckle as he looks out the window. "They're skillful, intelligent, and ruthless. They're like, what drives Fulminare. Don't tell them I said that though." He states, making Jaehyung promise to not say a word.

"Can I ask a question again?"

"Please feel free."

"Will I be held hostage?" Namjoon laughs at the question, shaking his head. "We're a civil resistance group, that's not how things go around here. Plus, you're well-known. If you become unresponsive, I fear that people will start questioning your whereabouts, link it to Fulminare and continue to fear us." He continues.

"I had the meeting with Younghyun, Vulps as you may know him, and Ryujin regarding the matter. They both agree that we can’t hold you hostage and we think that you’ll be of utmost help. Just, act surprised when I announce it tomorrow." Namjoon reveals, making Jaehyung smile. He was glad to know that he would be helping Fulminare with their tasks.

"I was talking to Soobin and Sooyoung a while ago, just asking how they ended up joining Fulminare. Were you the one who started this group?" Jaehyung asks, curious as to how Fulminare even started. Namjoon laughs and says, "This is starting to feel like an interview."

"Oh, I can-"

"No, please. I love it. It’s a moment to reminisce. I did not start the idea, it was Yoongi and Ryujin. They did go to me to inquire about certain things and eventually, asked if I could join and be the leader. I was honored since I thought Yoongi or Ryujin would want to be the leader. They felt like it was fit for them to not take that role and entrust it onto me."

Jaehyung was surprised by the fact that Namjoon did not start the idea. What surprised him even more is that Yoongi was not called to the meeting regarding himself.

"So, why was Yoongi not called to the meeting?" Jaehyung decided to ask. "Well, he was the one who suggested killing you." Namjoon says, catching Jaehyung drop his mouth open. "He's been in a rough spot lately. He was one of the members that knew what to do. I used to go to him a lot when I didn't know what to do as the leader and his insights helped. He's just dealing with his aggression right now."

"I understand, I hope he can recover at his own pace." Jaehyung says despite being a target of his aggression. "Yeah, he's getting help from a therapist to get a better understanding of himself and to figure out the problem. He went up to me a while ago to apologize for his behavior and to sort of asked me to explain to you his situation." Namjoon explains with Jaehyung fully understanding the situation.

"Can I ask you one last question?"

"Alright."

"Why are you telling me this much information on the first day? Why are you so, trusting?" Jaehyung finally asks. He could not help but notice how willing Namjoon sort of was with answering his questions. For a group that does not want to reveal their identities, their leader was sort of giving Jaehyung a lot of information to work with.

"I want to be transparent with you. You're part of Fulminare and I'd like for you to know what you want and what you _need_ to know. We'll get to the need tomorrow." Jaehyung accepts Namjoon’s answer, understanding his point. If Jaehyung was going to be part of Fulminare, he needed to know some of the things that go on with the group.

Namjoon smiles, looking back out the window to admire the starry night. "You know, you remind me of a friend of mine." Jaehyung listens, intrigued by what Namjoon has to say. "Just had a lot of questions to ask." He giggles, making Jaehyung furrow his eyebrows.

—

Jaehyung woke up the next day because of Yeonjun shaking him. "It's time to get up, Namjoon's going to announce something." He says to Jaehyung, earning a muffled 'mhm' from him. Eventually, Jaehyung got up and got ready to get out of the room, wearing the clothes he wore yesterday. As he exited the room, he saw that only a few of them were downstairs in the common area. He noticed Soobin, Yeonjun, Sooyoung, Namjoon, and two other individuals he does not know the names of yet.

As he walked down the stairs, the people in the common area noticed his arrival. "Jaehyung, come!" Sooyoung called him over with a smile. Once Jaehyung arrived, he was greeted by everyone, including the two people he did not know. "Oh, that's Yoojung and Ryujin." Sooyoung introduces them to him. "Hi, it's nice to meet you." Jaehyung greets them with a small smile. "It's nice to meet you too." Yoojung replies.

"So, are you scared about today?" Ryujin asks, raising her eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I was up all night thinking about it." Jaehyung lies. He was up all night, just not thinking about the decision he already knew. He was pondering on what the future would hold for him and the rest of Seoul. He hopes that the government would start to listen to what the citizens have to say and take action. "Don't be too worried. We're a civil resistance group, not a terrorist group." Ryujin says, sort of trying to reassure him.

"Where are the others?" Namjoon asks the people with him. "I'm pretty sure Jungkook is trying to wake Yoongi up, you know how Yoongi could be." Yeonjun points out. "Same goes for Younghyun and Y/N. They crave sleep even more than Yoongi." Sooyoung says, making Namjoon giggle. "They're the one that stays up until these ungodly hours and wakes up regretting it." He says to the group.

Eventually, the four individuals arrived; two of them wide awake and smiling with the other two groggy as ever. "Why did the meeting have to be in the morning?" Y/N complains as they rub their eyes. "We have a lot to discuss. However, before we proceed, I would like to announce the decision that Ryujin, Younghyun, and I made. We've decided that Jaehyung will be... a new member of Fulminare!" Namjoon announces, earning some applause.

"Yay! Now, we're working together again." Soobin says as he rests his hand on Jaehyung shoulder. "It's been a while since the three of us worked together." Sooyoung says, clearly happy that Jaehyung is now part of Fulminare.

"Later on, we'll be discussing what happened at TeleCorp. We have to make sure our stories all match up with one another. For now, let's all eat breakfast. Jiwoo sent us some food to stock up the fridge and pantry. Yoongi and Y/N, you can go back to sleep if you want to." Namjoon says, adjourning the meeting.

"Ah, who cares! I'm already awake, might as well eat." Y/N says as they start to walk to the dining area. Yoongi does not say anything but instead follows them. Eventually, everyone else made their way to the dining area.

"Who's Jiwoo?" Jaehyung decided to ask. "She's a member of Fulminare. She's the friend I was talking about, the one who I joined with." Sooyoung says as they continue to make their way to the dining area. Once they arrived, Jaehyung decided to take a seat at the table with Sooyoung, Yeonjun, Soobin, and Yoojung.

Everyone was eating and talking whenever they could, it allowed everyone to catch up or to get to know one another. It has been a while since Jaehyung had the time to form relationships like these. Back in CyberLife, he could find no time and vice versa. Everyone was busy in CyberLife, so it felt nice to form some friendships now.

"Oh, do you know where the washroom is?" Jaehyung asks as he stands up from his seat. "When you exit the dining area, take a right. The first door is the washroom." Yoojung answers. "Thank you." Jaehyung says before he makes his way to the washroom.

Once he reached the washroom, he turned the doorknob to only find out that it is locked. That meant someone was occupying it, so he decided to wait patiently. After some time, the door opened to reveal Y/N. "Uh, hi." Jaehyung greets them, only for them to furrow their eyebrows at him. They look around the area to check if anyone else was here. When they saw no one else but Jaehyung, they took the opportunity to pull him in the washroom and close the door.

Jaehyung was pushed back so that his back was directly on the door. "Listen, I don't know your business here in Fulminare. I don't trust you and I hope that we don't have to work together. Stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours, got it?" Y/N says to him with their finger on his chest.

"You know, I have no damn idea why you're being so hostile. I'm going to have to work with you, you know that right?" He says with a smirk. "I have no damn idea why you're trying to annoy me. Just stay out of my way." They say as their face nears his.

"How can I stay out of your way if you were the one who brought me into this washroom? You're the one whose face is moving closer towards mine." Jaehyung points out, making Y/N's cheeks turn a bit pink. ' _They're flustered._ ' is what Jaehyung thought, thinking it was sort of cute despite her hostility.

"Whatever, just stay out of my business." Y/N pushed him to the side and opened the door, exiting the washroom. It was clear to him that Y/N did not like him, and that did not bother him for now. Eventually, he will find a way to crack that cold exterior.


	3. The Interview

Jaehyung was making his way towards a small meeting room located in TeleCorp. By the request of the previously mentioned company, the police are here to investigate the matter that took place yesterday. However, no one is currently being brought into interrogation as there is no clear identity of the suspect that allowed for this event to transpire. For that reason, the police felt it would be best to interview every single individual who was here yesterday.

Jaehyung arrived at the meeting room the interview would be happening; he saw Jungkook, Sooyoung, Soobin, Y/N, Yeonjun, and other individuals outside the mentioned room, some with very much familiar faces while others with not so familiar ones. There were police officers stationed in front of the door to make sure no one was talking to anyone. ' _It's just like how Namjoon described it._ ' is what Jaehyung thought to himself.

Jaehyung took the seat that was positioned in Soobin's field of vision and tried to play it cool. This is the very first time Jaehyung would have to be interviewed by police officers, and he hopes for it to be the last time as well. He only wishes that this would go smoothly and quickly; the more he waited, the more he got nervous. All he had to do is go with what was planned.

—

_5:47 A.M._

_"Alright, we have to discuss what happened yesterday. First, we have to fill in Jaehyung regarding what we did. Following that, we should make sure that our stories link up with one another and find holes." Namjoon states as he takes a seat on the end chair. Currently, the whole of Fulminare (excluding Jiwoo) was in the biggest meeting room to discuss the events that took place in TeleCorp yesterday and to cover their tracks._

_"We need to do this quickly and thoroughly since we will be called to be interviewed today, most likely around 10 or 11 A.M." Sooyoung says as she takes a look at her phone. 'Only around 4 or 5 hours to think of perfect stories?' is what Jaehyung thought. It seemed impossible to Jaehyung, but for the rest of Fulminare, it felt doable._

_"Here, watch this video of what we did." Sooyoung says as she passes her phone to Jaehyung. A loading screen greets him until he sees clips of the middle and lower classes play with a voiceover accompanied by it. The voice sounded entirely different from all of the members of Fulminare._

_"People wish to see a society where class discrimination is not prevalent— where each individual is viewed equal no matter the socioeconomic class. However, many years of voicing this concern, and yet, we are still here, dreaming of such to happen. This concern continues to be ignored, turning into meaningless words to many— but we continue to plead. Images and stories of individuals suffering from the lack of shelter, food, as well as access to clean water are things that have been desensitized to many; these are necessities that we, citizens, need to survive. However, these can only be afforded with money._

_With a partial system in place, it is hard for many to get jobs without at least a high school diploma. The number of public schools present in our country is not enough for the number of people who cannot afford to pay tuition for private education. We ask for the stories of those who suffer in poverty not to be information you become desensitized to. Instead, we ask you to recognize that these individuals do not have enough resources to help themselves; they are individuals who need to be tended to. We ask for the increase of public schools, as education should be a right rather than a privilege. Every individual should be given the chance to learn and work their way into the careers they dream of. We ask for more job opportunities to be provided to those of the lower class so that they may be given the possibility to make a comfortable living. We ask for the eradication of the prejudiced system in place and start listening to those of the middle and lower classes._

_These are only some of the many concerns both classes have, and we wish to be given more attention with a plan of action to solve these. We ask the government to first focus on listening to the majority of the people before envisioning a future where we cannot exist. To push for a futuristic high tech society is a form of classism, as you will only continue to ignore what the people need. With the aid of the wealthy and big corporations, you can eradicate the class discrimination still evident in our society. It is with the wealthy, big corporations, and the government that can help create the difference that we —middle and lower classes— have asked for."_

_It was undoubtedly a male who was speaking, but Jaehyung had no idea of who was speaking. "It's Younghyun who spoke. He has the talent to change his voice and completely sound different." Soobin points out, answering the question Jaehyung was about to ask._

_"However, we have to thank Y/N for writing an impactful but civilized speech." Ryujin says as she smiles at Y/N. 'Y/n wrote this?' is what Jaehyung thought, impressed, and intrigued. He wonders what Y/N's profession is but at the current state of their relationship, he knew that it would be impossible to find out any time soon. All he could do was guess, and he's betting on journalist._

_"Oh, stop, it could be better. The main concern was just getting our message out there." Y/N says, clearly unsatisfied with what they had written. "And I'm sure it did. With an easy to understand speech and Younghyun's hypnotizing voice, I'm sure that the message was loud and clear. We're just hoping that the government understands it too." Yoojung voices out, earning a sigh from Yoongi. "I mean, when does the government ever understand?"_

_Jaehyung agreed with what Yoongi had to say. Many times, it is good to believe that the government would understand what the nation has to say and make the right decisions. However, with corruption continuously being prevalent, it makes it harder to believe in such._

_"I mean, that is why Fulminare was formed in the first place: in hopes of getting the government to understand." Ryujin points out, looking sort of disappointed with Yoongi. Yoongi simply remained silent, not bothering to continue the conversation any further._

_It was no lie that Yoongi's lack of faith in Fulminare's endeavors was bumming out a lot of people, especially Ryujin. After his encounter with Y/N (and using the washroom), he came back to his table to hear them gossiping on Yoongi and Ryujin._

_It was around the same time Yoongi started to have issues with his aggression. As Fulminare continued with their plans, there were many instances where Yoongi would oppose these plans, mentioning that it would not be beneficial or of any use. People would like to think Yoongi knew what he was saying as he was one of the smartest people in the group. However, his disinterest and opposition continued to bother a lot of individuals as time passed by._

_It made sense if Ryujin was the person most disappointed with Yoongi since they were the two who started Fulminare. More people started to ignore what Yoongi had to say, even going as far as arguing with him. The only people who claimed to understand him were Younghyun, Namjoon, and Y/N._

_"Let's proceed with discussing the plan. Now, there will be officers most likely stationed around the area where you will wait to be interrogated, which is why we must go through everything once again. Everybody knows what to say except Jaehyung, so let's handle that." Namjoon says, trying to clear the air from the tension that was present. "I think he can say that he left once he met with Soobin and that Sooyoung can confirm that. Either way, we have that one coworker of Sooyoung who can confirm Sooyoung's words and alibi." Jungkook suggests, earning some 'mhm's from others._

_"I don't think it's enough to leave it at that. Namjoon, maybe you should call your friend who runs that cafe." Y/N adds._

_"Oh, Taehyung? He runs an art cafe though. Do you think they'll buy it?"_

_"Yeah, claim that Taehyung and Jaehyung know each other because of, uh, mutual friends. They might question it but Taehyung can just mention that he's friends with you and that you introduced them to each other because, uh, I don't know. Say that you and Jaehyung were having lunch one day and Taehyung saw you and decided to greet you." Y/N answers._

_"But, I offered to get Jaehyung coffee. How will that work?" Soobin inquires. "He can say that you wanted to get yourself coffee and that Jaehyung denied the offer since he planned to meet with Taehyung." Y/N answers, earning 'mhm's from others._

_"I think Y/N's idea works. Taehyung's art cafe is only open from 10 A.M.-3 P.M. anyway. Jaehyung got to TeleCorp around 2:30 P.M. and I recorded that he left around 3 P.M. anyway." Sooyoung points out, making Namjoon let out a 'hmm'. "Alright, I'll call him up right now. Ryujin and Younghyun, go through everyone's alibi while I make this call. Make sure they all link up to one another and ensure that there are no holes." Namjoon leaves the room as Younghyun and Ryujin take charge, discussing and clarifying the plan._

—

Jaehyung noticed that Yoongi had left the meeting room he was being interrogated in with a blank face. There was no clear sign on his face whether he succeeded or not, but the fact that he was not handcuffed was a clear identification. "Jung Jungkook." The officer called out, making Jungkook stand from his seat and enter the room.

Jungkook's interrogation period did not seem to take that long, maybe because Yoongi had covered most of the details anyway. It seemed as if the officer in charge was trying to make sure that our alibis linked and matched with one another. After ten minutes, Jungkook was out of the room, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Park Jaehyung." The officer called out, making Jaehyung stand up from his seat and enter the room. Jaehyung was greeted by two other officers present in the room as the officer in charge closed the door. "Take a seat, please." He says as he gestures to the one seat on his side of the room while he takes a seat on the chair on the opposite. Jaehyung followed his orders and tried to gain his composure.

"State your name and birthday."

"Park Jaehyung, September 15, 1992." The officer types on his laptop, probably taking note of what Jaehyung has to say.

"Okay, what was your business here at TeleCorp?"

"I was informed by my boss, Park Jinyoung, that I had to aid in fixing the system of the main broadcasting room."

"Would you have an idea of the reason you were sent here?"

"Yes, he sent because I previously worked for TeleCorp until I resigned and decided to work for CyberLife. I used to deal with this system back when I worked in TeleCorp and decided to pass as much knowledge as I could to my old coworker, Choi Soobin."

"Okay, please state what you did when you got here and left."

' _Alright, be cool._ ' is what Jaehyung thought. His story plays a crucial part in making sure everyone else's alibis go according to plan. He had to make sure he would not fuck this up.

"When Mr. Park told me of my task, I went straight to TeleCorp and arrived around 2:30 P.M. I went up to the main broadcasting center and saw the officers stationed by the entrance. When I entered, I was greeted by my old boss, Mr. Jeon Wonwoo, and my old coworker, Soobin."

"Were the officers you saw stationed by the entrance the two you saw in the waiting room?" The officer inquired, earning a nod from Jaehyung.

"Wonwoo had left the main broadcasting center to leave me and Soobin to handle fixing the system. Soobin asked if I, uh, wanted some coffee since he would get himself some in the breakroom just on the same floor. I denied the offer since I was going to visit a friend of mine who owns an art cafe. Soobin left me in the room as I continued fixing the system. Once I was done, I exited the main broadcasting center and was called over to the break room by Soobin. Uh, I explained that I was done and that Soobin would walk me back down to the lobby." Jaehyung finished his story, making the officer ponder and process.

"What time did you leave TeleCorp?"

"Around 3 P.M. When I got to the lobby, I bid farewell to Soobin and left to meet with my friend."

"Is there anyone who can confirm that you and Mr. Choi Soobin did go down to the lobby around that time aside from Ms. Ha Sooyoung?" Jaehyung slowly starts to lose his composure once that question is asked. He did not know what to say since his mind was drawing blanks. He could not leave it at no one since it was in the lobby, a place crawling with people. He did not want to risk ruining Fulminare's plan by dragging an innocent person and admitting to not seeing him or Soobin. He had to think fast, which resulted in him saying the name of the first person that pops into his mind.

"Y/N." Jaehyung blurts out, cursing at himself silently as he tries to regain his composure. The officer looked at him, curious about what he had to say. "Proceed."

' _Fuck, this will be hard for Y/N._ ' is what Jaehyung thought, asking the universe to make sure that she goes easy on him. "When, uh, Soobin and I were on the elevator going down, it stopped on a floor where they were on. They got on the, uh, elevator and greeted Soobin. We were introduced to each other and that was it." Jaehyung explains, earning a 'hmm' from the officer.

"May I ask why you decided to leave that part out of your story?" The officer asks. "I thought it was not essential." Jaehyung lies, knowing he fucked up. "Next time, please make sure to mention everything. I will decide whether it's essential or not." The officer says as he types something on his laptop. "Okay, my apologies."

"Now, you mentioned that you went to visit a friend who owns an art cafe. May I know the name of this friend and this art cafe?"

"His name is Kim Taehyung and his art cafe is named Vante's."

"How do you two know each other?"

"A mutual friend introduced us to each other. I was having, uh, lunch with that friend and Taehyung decided to greet him. Our mutual friend introduced us to each other and we decided to let him join us for lunch." Jaehyung says the lines he rehearsed on the way to TeleCorp. He cannot believe that he managed to get that right despite fucking up his story. The officer simply nods as he continues to type.

"Okay, one of my coworkers will accompany you as you bring him to Vante. We'd like to ask Mr. Kim some questions. You may leave, thank you for your time." The officer says as he looks at Jaehyung. ' _Oh, thank god_.' is what Jaehyung thought as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the door, one of the officers following behind him. The officer in charge stood up from his seat as well and opened the door for Jaehyung and his coworker so that they could exit the meeting room.

"Y/N." The officer in charge called out, making Soobin, Sooyoung, and Y/N snap their heads up. Jaehyung kept his head down as he continued to walk with the officer. ' _Sorry Y/N_ .' is all Jaehyung thought of, hoping that they and the rest of Fulminare would go easy on him.

—

The trip to Vante's was short, with Jaehyung taking some moments to remember the directions Namjoon had shown him from the top of his head. Thankfully, it was not too far, only two bus stops away from TeleCorp. Both Jaehyung and the officer got off the bus once it reached their stop and continued to walk until they finally saw the sign that says "Vante".

This time, Vante had a few customers inside. Some of them were painting while others were simply just enjoying their drinks and treats. As they both entered, a bell by the door rang to signal their arrival. Some customers looked while others paid no attention.

"Jae!" Someone calls out. Jaehyung ends up seeing a man behind the counter who was in the middle of handing a customer his drink. He was smiling at Jaehyung, waving at him once the customer got their drink. Jaehyung remembered the man to be Taehyung as shown by a picture from Namjoon. He walked to Taehyung with a smile, the officer following real close.

"Hi, Tae." Jaehyung greets back, earning a hug from him despite the counter in between the two. Jaehyung hugged back immediately to not raise any suspicion, but it was definitely odd to be hugged by someone you just met.

"Didn't know you'd be back for more drinks- Oh, hello there." Taehyung says as he lets go of Jaehyung, pretending to only notice the officer at that moment. "Good morning Mr. Kim Taehyung. Would it be okay if I asked you some questions?" The officer asked, making Taehyung furrow his eyebrows but not declining what was asked for. Taehyung led the two to a table by the corner where no one would be able to eavesdrop in their conversation. Once they all took a seat, the officer brought out a small notebook and pen.

"Can you please state your full name and birthday?"

"Kim Taehyung, December 30, 1995."

"How do you and Mr. Park Jaehyung know each other?"

"Oh! We have a mutual friend who introduced us to each other. It happened during a, uh, lunch they were having. I wanted to say hi to that friend and I was introduced and invited to have lunch with them. Since then, Jae and I have been friends." Taehyung says with a smile, looking at both the officer and Jaehyung. This, of course, makes Jaehyung smile back.

"Where were you yesterday from 12-4 P.M.?"

"I was busy handling my art cafe. Jae stopped by some time around past 3 and we hung out and had some drinks."

"Is there anyone or anything that can confirm this aside from you?" The officer asks as he looks around the place, probably trying to search for security cameras. "A worker of mine saw Jae enter the cafe before he left. We close around 3 P.M. since my only worker cannot help after 3 P.M. to tend to his grandmother." Taehyung explains.

"No security cameras?"

"Cannot afford any yet. Most of the money goes into focusing on art supplies and the pantry. We just have an alarm system if anyone breaks in during closing hours."

"May I talk to this worker of yours?" The officer asks, earning a nod from Taehyung. Once Taehyung stands up, Jaehyung stands up as well, following him as they walk away from the table. "Seokjin! The officer wants to talk to you." Taehyung says to the man who was wiping the counter clean. The man looks up and nods, dropping the hand towel and walking to where the officer was.

"Sorry for hugging you, I was sort of panicking." Taehyung whispered as they walked further away from the officer. "No worries. It just made it look like we actually are friends, especially the nicknames." Jaehyung whispers back as he leaned on the counter.

"Can I make you anything?" Taehyung asks as he goes behind the counter, continuing to clean up a bit. "Oh sure, an iced matcha latte would do." Jaehyung says as he searches for his wallet. "No need to pay, it's on the house." Taehyung retorts, giving Jaehyung a smile before he makes the drink. Jaehyung decided to not push any further and instead thank him.

Eventually, Taehyung hands Jaehyung his drink. He takes a sip, letting out a moan after. "This is really good." He says as he takes another sip. Taehyung's worker, Seokjin, comes back to behind the counter and continues to clean the appliances. "I'll be on my way." The officer says.

"Oh, would you like a drink?" Taehyung asks, making the officer shake his head. "I'm good, thank you again." The officer bids farewell and exits the cafe. Taehyung, Seokjin, and Jaehyung let out a sigh of relief once they were out of the premise.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pay? Thought that this may have been part of the act." Jaehyung asks, getting ready to pull out his wallet. "It's okay, it’s on the house. It's for my new friend." Taehyung says with a smile.

"Taehyung, please never ask me to do that again." Seokjin says as his shoulders go down. Taehyung giggles, nodding at Seokjin's request. "I'll try not to. Oh, this is Seokjin. Jin, this is Jaehyung." Taehyung speaks, taking this as an opportunity to introduce the two properly. "Nice to meet you." Seokjin says with a small smile. "You as well."

"And I'm Taehyung! You can call me Tae since we're _actually_ friends now." Taehyung says with a smile. "You can call me Jae, I don't mind being called that." Jaehyung admits to the two, taking a sip from his drink.

"We help stock your pantry, if you didn't know." Taehyung says, making Jaehyung think. Then he realized he was referring to Fulminare's pantry. "Oh, I thought it was Jiwoo who was in charge." Jaehyung responds. "Most of the time, yes. However, when we have some things to spare, we inform Joon so that he can pick it up." Jaehyung lets out an 'oh' at Taehyung's answer.

"Do you have to be somewhere, or? I was hoping to get to know you more." Taehyung asks with his boxy smile showing. Jaehyung had no problem with getting to know Taehyung, in fact, he was _too_ on board with it. ' _Whatever will keep me from going back to Fulminare will do._ ' is what Jaehyung thought, clearly not ready to be reprimanded.

Jaehyung took Taehyung's offer, enjoying a few hours with him —and occasionally Seokjin— over some sandwiches, pastries, and drinks that are to die for.

—

Jaehyung was on his way back to Fulminare's base, fearing for what they would have to say to him once he arrived. Taehyung had received a call from Namjoon, hoping to get him to relay the message to Jaehyung that he must come back immediately. Jaehyung was indeed terrified of what awaits him in Fulminare's base but Taehyung tried to reassure him.

In those few hours, Jaehyung would gladly say that Taehyung has become one of his closest friends, maybe even a best friend. Taehyung was easy going and made sure that he both expressed himself and listened to what Jaehyung had to say. Seokjin did join in the conversation every once in a while but was clearly busy with his job, taking up on every task so that Taehyung could continue to keep Jaehyung company. Overall, he was glad to say that he had befriended two new people today.

Eventually, Jaehyung had arrived at Fulminare's base. He pressed on the buzzer and continued to wait until someone opened the door. He was greeted by a pair of eyes before they decided to let him in, probably making sure that he was alone or a member of Fulminare. The door was then opened, revealing the owner of those eyes to be Jungkook.

"You're back! Almost thought you ran away." Jungkook admits as he closes the door once Jaehyung enters. "Ran away?" He questions, earning a nod from Jungkook. "Because you sort of messed up back in TeleCorp." The color drains from Jaehyung's face. This meant that they were busy discussing his fuck up while he was enjoying lunch with Taehyung and Seokjin.

"Hey, don't worry too much about it. It's all chill." Jungkook reassures him following with some mumbling that Jaehyung could not catch. "I'm sorry?" Jungkook decides to not respond and instead walks with Jaehyung following him.

The two walked to the common area to see a group of people —perhaps most of Fulminare— talking amongst themselves. "Brace yourself." Jungkook whispers to Jaehyung as he joins the group, making them look at Jaehyung.

It was at that moment he saw Y/N ready to pounce on him. "Park Jaehyung I'm going to fucking kill you!" Y/N shouts as they try to get closer to Jaehyung, only to be held back by both Yoongi and Younghyun. Jaehyung decides to take this opportunity to walk closer to the group but farther from Y/N. He earns a rub on the shoulder from Yeonjun, a smile following. "No one blames you."

"What do you mean no blames him?! I blame him for fucking up the plan!" Y/N snarls, trying to pry away from Yoongi's and Younghyun's grasps. Yeonjun and Ryujin decide to step in front of Jaehyung. "Y/N, calm the fuck down. Cut him some slack." Ryujin says.

""Cut him some slack", huh? I had to pull a story out of my fucking ass and make sure it fucking linked and matched with this fucker's story." Y/N says, clearly referring to Jaehyung. "I panicked, okay?!" Jaehyung decides to speak up, only making Y/N even more furious. Yeonjun pushes Jaehyung back, scared that Y/N might get to Jaehyung.

"How could you not think of mentioning Sooyoung's coworker? Sooyoung's coworker was supposed to be the person that also fucking proves that she's trustable." Y/N points out, making Jaehyung sort of irritated. He already knew that he messed up, but he hated how much salt Y/N was rubbing onto his wound.

"It was a mistake! It's my first time, I'm not like you. I don't fucking do shit that the government would arrest me for!" Jaehyung blurts, eyes widening at what he said. This causes almost everyone to look at him. He knew what was wrong with his statement, feeling guilty. "I'm sorr-"

"I'm GOING TO END YOU!" Y/N shouts, prying away from Yoongi's and Younghyun's grasps only to be caught by Yeonjun and Ryujin. Namjoon finally enters the common area to see the scene about to unfold.

"Y/N, go to the recreational room." Namjoon says, clearly disappointed with their behavior. Y/N lets out a grunt, shaking out of Yeonjun's and Ryujin's grasps. "We're settling this later." Y/N says with venom laced in their voice.

"No, you are not. I will settle this. Now, go." Namjoon scolds, earning an eye roll from Y/N. Y/N eventually leaves the common area with Yoojung and Sooyoung following. Just as Yoongi is about to run after Y/N, Namjoon tells him not to. "Let them be, I'm sure Yoojung and Sooyoung will help in defusing them."

"I'm sorry, about messing up and what I said a while ago." Jaehyung immediately apologizes. "It's alright, you're new here and we've asked you to do so much. Plus, you aren't wrong about what you said a while ago." Younghyun says with a chuckle.

"What did he say a while ago?" Namjoon asks since he arrived right before a scene was about to unfold. "He mentioned how the things we're doing are things the government would arrest us for." Ryujin answers with a nod accompanying what she says.

"Oh, that makes sense as to why Y/N became even more hostile. It's okay, you may have fucked up a bit, but everything worked out alright in the end." Namjoon says with a smile. Jaehyung lets out a sigh of relief, glad to know that Fulminare (or at least most of them) were understanding.

"I'm just glad you said Y/N instead of anyone else. They may have had to pull a story out of their ass, but they're probably the only one who could do that." Yoongi says, a smile playing on his lips. The rest of the group agrees with what Yoongi says.

"Should I, uh, apologize?" Jaehyung asks the group of people. "You can try, but I don't think you'll get anything back. Give it until the end of today maybe." Younghyun says, making Jaehyung let out a sigh. "We just don't work out. They've always been hostile and I've been taunting and teasing them back." Jaehyung admits, earning some chuckles.

"We can tell since they have so much to say about you. Kind of surprised you managed to find a way to get back at them, through teasing and taunting I mean." Namjoon says with his dimples showing. "Anyway, we just called you back here to sort of discuss that. You can go back to your place, pack some things, and bring them back here. We need you to stay here first since we'll be having a lot of meetings and schemes." Jaehyung nods as he stands up.

"Thank you again, for being understanding." Jaehyung thanks the group, earning some smiles and nods from these individuals. Jaehyung then decides to walk and leave the common area with Jungkook following him.

"So, you said you would settle whatever is going on with Y/N and Jaehyung, right?" Soobin inquires, earning an 'mhm' from Namjoon. "What will you do?" Yoongi asks only to earn a chuckle from Namjoon. "You'll see."


	4. The First Mission

It has been a few days since Jaehyung had been questioned, made two new friends, and almost got pounced on by Y/N. He received a big sum of money from his efforts for RK800 and was told to take a week or two off by his boss. He was thankful because he could finally rest, but it also meant he had so much time. For the first time, he did not know how to use it. Jaehyung brought back some things (including the necessities) to Fulminare's base for the time being.

Everyone was busy doing other tasks they were assigned to do or with work or personal matters. Ever since Y/N's outburst, Jaehyung and Y/N have not talked. When the two would cross paths, both would opt to ignore each other and go on with their lives. Everyone could sense that there was tension present between the two. Despite them not being in any form of relationship, it always felt like you were the third-wheel around the two.

Jaehyung did not particularly hate Y/N but was more irritated by their presence. He had learned to give up on fixing whatever was going on between them after the number of times his apologies were ignored. However, he never stopped with his teasing and taunting; it added oil to the fire present. Fulminare hated what Jaehyung kept doing, but they also hated what Y/N was doing. When an opportunity presents itself to Y/N for them to point out Jaehyung's incompetency in Fulminare, they take it.

It was clear to everyone that Y/N and Jaehyung would not look eye-to-eye, which made it such a shame. Everyone except the two knew that Y/N and Jaehyung could connect and build on each other's ideas while pointing out the flaws and holes in them too. It was certain in the eyes of Namjoon, Ryujin, and Younghyun that the pair could offer a lot more to Fulminare if they patched things up.

Currently, they were in the middle of a meeting to discuss Fulminare's future plans and endeavors. Namjoon called for this meeting so that everyone was on the same page— everyone part of Fulminare needed to know and understand their plan of action. Jaehyung took note that Namjoon is a person who believes in the importance of transparency.

"Now, we need to get ready for the protest happening in a few months. It'll be the biggest one yet, bigger than the ones we've formed." Namjoon mentions, explaining thoroughly what he had planned out with the help of Ryujin, Younghyun, and Yoongi. "Spreading information about the protest won't be difficult, we just need to ensure that we can care for the individuals that might be injured during the event itself." He continues on, making Jaehyung somehow connect the dots.

"Oh, so medical facilities?" Yeonjun asks, earning a nod from Namjoon. "Exactly. We have someone who can give us direct access to the supplies we need to stock up on. Yoojung and Ryujin, you two are done going through our stocks, right?" Namjoon asks the two.

"We're almost done; we need to go through the stocks one more time. I can give you the list by the afternoon." Yoojung answers with Ryujin nodding along. "Alright. If you need help, just get Sooyoung to help." Namjoon suggests.

"I'm sure my insider can wait till the afternoon, we just have to make sure we pick it up tonight. I'm assigning three people to pick up the supplies itself, one will be on watch out while the other two will get the supplies itself." He continues, earning a chuckle from Younghyun. "Why the chuckle?" Y/N asks, clearly intrigued by what Younghyun has to say.

"Oh, you're going to _hate_ Namjoon for this." Namjoon glares at Younghyun as he notices Y/N furrow their eyebrows. "I'm assigning Younghyun as the lookout, meaning he will be by the truck and making cover-ups if they get caught. However, I'm assigning both Y/N and Jae-"

"Take that back." Y/N interrupts before Namjoon could continue. Jaehyung was not happy about it in any way, but it is not like he _hated_ it. Yet, he could clearly tell that he would end up eating his words once the night came. Namjoon could tell that both were equally annoyed with what the night has in store for them.

"Y/N and Jaehyung will be grabbing medical supplies."

"Why does it have to be Jaehyung? Yoojung can come with me instead." Y/N tries to reason out with Namjoon, only to earn nothing. "Y/N, just comply with me this time." Namjoon replies with a stern voice, clearly showing that they should not push it.

"Come with me to your office." They say, clearly not complying with Namjoon's decisions. One thing Jaehyung observed throughout his stay in Fulminare is that Y/N and Namjoon barely got into arguments. There have been quarrels but never were there any arguments. Seeing this unfold made everyone uncomfortable, including Jaehyung.

Namjoon let out a sigh and complied with Y/N's request, both eventually entering his office. Jaehyung was upset, but he would never force Namjoon to rearrange his whole plan; maybe because he was not close enough with him in the first place.

Jaehyung felt a hand on his shoulder, only to see it was Younghyun. "Hey, you good?" He asks, earning a nod from Jaehyung. "I'm surprised that you aren't throwing a fit."

"I mean, I would, but I'm not close enough with you, Namjoon, or Ryujin to throw a tantrum." Younghyun snickers at Jaehyung's replying, feeling how two-faced his answer is. "Good thing Y/N isn't here to hear what you just said. I am pretty sure this whole mission would be even harder to deal with." Jaehyung chuckles at the comment because he knew it's true. While he loved to tease and annoy Y/N, it was for the best that he would not rub any more salt onto the wound right now.

Namjoon and Y/N had finally exited his office, a smile on Namjoon's and a frown on Y/N's. "So, Ryujin and Yoojung will give you three the list of supplies we need. I'm also sending my insider the list so that Jaehyung and Y/N don't have to stress themselves out." Y/N rolls their eyes which makes Younghyun laugh. "Y/N, you're going to have to suck it up."

""Y/N, you're going to have to suck it up." I know that since Namjoon wouldn't give two shits about what I said earlier anyways." Y/N sighs as they leave the meeting room. Namjoon sighs and looks at Younghyun, only to receive a smile. "Just going to give them some space then apologize, promise." Namjoon lets a small smile slip up, clearly understanding both how Y/N works and their relationship with Younghyun.

"Other than that, I just need everyone to proceed with whatever they must do. If you have nothing, you can always take a break or help spread the word about the protest." Namjoon continues on, dismissing the meeting and allowing everyone to leave.

As Jaehyung finally left the meeting room, he decided to go to his room to relax before the mission. On his way there, he saw Y/N leave the washroom still clearly frustrated. As Y/N notices his presence, the more surprised Jaehyung got to see that they could look even _madder_. "What do you want, Park?" They ask as they cross their arms.

"Me? I don't want anything, but maybe you want something from me." Jaehyung takes this opportunity to tease Y/N, making them scoff. "As if! You'd be the last person I want to stay with, let alone want anything from."

"Ah, so you _have_ thought about hanging out with me. I'm honored, Y/N. I'm quite fun to be with-" At that moment, Jaehyung felt his shirt being grasped and his back slam against the wall. He felt his head smash against the wall, letting out a groan from the pain. "Park, you need to tone it down with whatever the fuck you are doing." Y/N says with their face up close to his.

"Hey! Break them apart, holy shit." Younghyun calls from afar as he runs towards the two. Y/N had finally let go once Younghyun grabbed hold of them and pulled them away. "Y/N, this has to stop; you cannot harass the man." Younghyun tries to discipline them, only for them to snarl. "He's trying to get on my nerves on purpose. You tell him to stop whatever the fuck he's trying to do, or he's going to remain dead after this mission."

Jaehyung scoffs at what they had to say, finally letting his anger take over. "Stop what? My _harmful_ teasing? You're the bitch who slammed me against the wall!" Right before Y/N could attack him, Younghyun held them back. Yeonjun and Soobin had come running to help facilitate the situation. Yeonjun grabbed ahold of Y/N, allowing Younghyun to have a break.

"You asses have to stop with this, and I mean it. If you two act like this during the mission, I will leave you _both_ dead. Don't test me on this one. Soobin, just get Jaehyung to his room. Yeonjun, help me deal with Y/N." Younghyun orders, making Soobin grab ahold of Jaehyung and quickly bring him to their room.

Jaehyung takes a seat on his bed, clearly mad at what had occurred. "Hyung, you're going to need to stop with the teasing." Soobin points out as he grabs an ice pack from the mini-fridge. "Stop with what, my _harmful_ teasing?" Jaehyung snaps, only to earn a roll of eyes from Soobin.

"You know it is, now ice the back of your head." Soobin says as he throws an ice pack at Jaehyung. "I don't need this ice pack." He mutters to himself.

"As if, I saw what was happening even before Younghyun came rushing in." With that, Jaehyung let out a sigh and complied. As he brought the ice pack to the back of his head, he let out a hiss from the pressure being put onto his head and the temperature of the ice pack.

"For a nice guy who's willing to comply with almost everything, you can be pretty hard-headed whenever it comes to Y/N." Soobin points out as he goes through the drawers. "Hard-headed? I mean, I've always sort of been." Jaehyung responds for only Soobin to let out an 'mhm'.

"I mean, you are right with that. Yet, you were compliant with almost everything Fulminare asked of you, never with matters that concern Y/N." He argues, only to receive silence from Jaehyung. Soobin was right, Jaehyung was nothing but nice to everyone except for Y/N. Although he won't admit to being compliant with everything, he recognized what Soobin was trying to say.

"Just rest up for now. I know Y/N is strong so that ache on the back of your head will last for a bit unless you ice it well." Jaehyung hums as Soobin pulls out a USB from the drawer and shuts it close.

Before he walks out, Soobin gave one last look to Jaehyung. "Hyung, I mean what I said earlier. Y/N is dealing with some matters, so let's put a hold on the teasing for now." Once Soobin exits the room, all Jaehyung could do was sigh and think about their conversation.

—

The night had finally set in, and Younghyun, Jaehyung, and Y/N were in a truck on the way to the hospital, wearing bandanas to cover the bottom half of their faces to cover up their identities. Y/N decided to take a seat beside Younghyun at the front as they could clearly not stand being anywhere near Jaehyung. Somehow, Jaehyung was starting to feel the same after what had occurred hours ago. Y/N clearly had a lot going on in their life, but it could not excuse what they did to him— just how nothing could excuse his innocuous teasing.

As they finally pulled up to the back of the hospital, Younghyun had shut the engine off and looked at both Y/N and Jaehyung. "As much as you two dislike each other, I need you both to cooperate and get the supplies needed. Here's the list." Younghyun hands Y/N a piece of paper, allowing them to go through whatever may be needed. "I need you both to double-check if what Namjoon's insider will give us is complete. It's important we get all the things we need without depriving the entire hospital of their needed supplies to aid others. Now, get out of the truck and wait for the insider; she should be here in a few minutes."

Both Jaehyung and Y/N get out of the truck and stand beside each other with a huge space in between the two. As they stood there and waited, Jaehyung could hear Y/N muttering out what is needed, as if they were trying to memorize it all. In the end, Jaehyung could not help but remain fascinated with them. From their cold and aggressive exterior to the newfound little habits they possessed, it was hard to not be _interested_ in their character.

As he continued to look forward and wait for Namjoon's insider he felt a hand smack against his chest. He looks down to see Y/N's hand handing him the list, grabbing it but never saying any form of thanks. He hears Y/N scoff at his action, only for him to roll his eyes. At this point, they were getting childish but none of them wanted to back down. Once Jaehyung went through the list, he decided to keep it with him and continued to wait.

Eventually, a girl wearing a scrub suit came out and spot Jaehyung, Y/N, and the truck that Younghyun was in. Once she waved her hand at them, Jaehyung and Y/N rushed to her and gave their short greetings. "Hello, I'm Namjoon's insider, Doyeon, so just follow me inside." As Doyeon pushed the doors open and went inside the building, Jaehyung and Y/N followed closely in hopes that they would not get caught.

The hallway was dimly lit, maybe because only a few people were granted access to this floor. As they finally arrived in front of a door, Doyeon stopped in her tracks to face at the two. "Do you have the payment on you?" Y/N pulls out a wad of cash from their pocket and hands it to Doyeon, allowing her to count through the money. Once she finished counting, she let out a hum and pushed the door open.

"There are navy blue boxes at the back, three boxes to be precise. You should double-check the supplies while you're at it because I'm not sure if I can grant any more favors like this. You have 15 minutes in there as well as going out." Doyeon reminds Jaehyung and Y/N, earning a nod from the two before they entered. Once Doyeon shut the door behind them, Y/N quickly switched on the lights and rushed to the back of the room with Jaehyung following.

The two finally spotted the three boxes beside a closet and grabbed hold of them. "I'm going to look through this box while you look through that box." Y/N says in a rush as they open one of them up. As they quickly went through a box, Jaehyung was slowly making sure that whatever was in the box fulfilled the same amount needed on the list. Jaehyung tried to keep up with them, but he would always get distracted by the mumbling of numbers coming out of their mouth.

The next thing you know, while they had opened up the last box, he was only 1/4 done with his. Jaehyung always struggled in situations where others were saying other numbers while he was counting; he could not focus and that remained a big setback for him. "How many have you got?" Y/N inquires only for Jaehyung to ignore as he continued to count.

"Earth to Park? How many have you got? We only have like 11 minutes in here." Y/N bothers Jaehyung only for him to lose count. With that, he let out a groan and glared at them. "I was in the middle of counting, now I have to restart." Y/N rolls their eyes and tries to grab the box from him, only for him to stop them from doing so.

"I can do my job, just keep track of your numbers." Jaehyung contests, only for Y/N to refute. "Clearly you can't if it takes you how many years to count." It upsets Jaehyung; in fact, it _angers_ him that Y/N made such a comment. "Listen, your mumbling had me jumbled up. Just shut up and let me count."

Y/N laughs in disbelief at his reply. "You want me to shut up? Call me a bitch while you're at it."

"Shut up bitch." Jaehyung does not hesitate as he continues to count.

Before Y/N could attack Jaehyung, there were footsteps and voices to be heard right outside the storage room. Both Jaehyung and Y/N briefly take a look at each other and immediately put back where the boxes were first placed.

"Fuck, what are we going to do? You know, this is your fault for taking your lovely ass time counting." Y/N mentions only for Jaehyung to frown. "My fault? We could've easily finished earlier if you didn't try to bother me." He tries to argue back as they frown. "Instead of trying to argue with me, think of a fucking plan."

Jaehyung lets out a sigh and scans the room. Y/N was right; it is pointless to engage in this stupid argument on whose fault is it. In the end, it will not matter if they both end up caught. Jaehyung noticed the closet beside them and opened it up to see a mop and broomstick. He quickly pushed them inside, only for them to let out a 'Hey!' as he quickly joined them inside. Right when he was about to close the closet door, he made sure to leave an opening for them to peek out.

"Hey, who left the lights on?"

"Maybe Doyeon left them on again."

"Typical." A pair of voices were accompanied by their heavy steps and rustling of plastic and boxes. It was clear to Jaehyung that it would take them a bit before they could leave. As he continued to look through the space between, he suddenly felt his knee start to itch. He placed his hand right on the wall behind Y/N and leaned forward to take a look down at his knee and scratched it. Then, he looked up to see his face up close Y/N's, their eyes staring right at his.

Their breath hitched at that moment, and Jaehyung was sure his did too. Not once did the two blink, even if how many minutes had passed. Jaehyung swears that he did not intend to look into their eyes for that long, but he could not help it. As he took a glance down at their lips, pink then dusted their cheeks. Y/N was nervous, and they could not do anything about it but stay locked in place.

Right as Jaehyung looked back up to their eyes, he swore he saw Y/N take a glance at his lips. Now he was flustered! As his cheeks became warmer, he begged the universe for Y/N to not see a thing just as how they had begged for the same with him. While Jaehyung's glasses were about to fall off the bridge of his nose, Y/N was quick to grab hold of them right before they could do so.

Y/N started to avoid looking right at his eyes or lips, looking anywhere on his face or the closet as they pushed his glasses back up. Yet, that did not stop him from looking at them. ' _God, what is up with you?_ ' Jaehyung thinks to himself before backing away. As he continued to look through the crack, he could see Y/N finally breathe in his peripheral vision.

"Got everything?"

"Yeah, let's go." The footsteps continued to get softer, following with the opening and closing of the door. Jaehyung and Y/N decide to take a few minutes inside the closet to make sure that the coast was truly clear. With no sound left to be heard, the pair finally got out of the closet and Jaehyung continued to do his job.

It was silent; nothing to be heard from Y/N or Jaehyung, and it did not feel comfortable in any way.

As Jaehyung finally wrote the number of supplies he had on the list he had, he quickly handed it over to Y/N for them to check. Y/N only nods and shoves the piece of paper back into their pocket right before they lifted a box. Right before they could lift the other box, Jaehyung quickly took it and easily lifted the two boxes that were once on the floor.

Y/N was surprised but decided not to comment on anything. Once the pair had exited the storage room, they quickly exited the building and were spotted by Younghyun. He got out of his truck to open up the back for both Jaehyung and Y/N to load the boxes and was surprised to hear nothing but silence from the two. Although peaceful, it felt odd.

As the pair finally finished loading the boxes in, they immediately got back into their respective seats as Younghyun closed up the back. He spots Doyeon from afar who had just exited the building and gave a bow as a form of thanks. Once she had given a smile and a bow back, he rushed back into the driver's seat and strapped on his seatbelt. "Glad to see you two aren't bickering." He jokes as he turns on the engine.

Yet, he was greeted with silence from the two, and he had no idea what to do other than driving back to Fulminare's base.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! you can find me on twitter (@gluion) and even send me questions on curiouscat (https://curiouscat.me/100618)
> 
> please leave kudos and comments :DDD they make me happy and motivate me to write more!


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